Helpful tips for traveling with hearing loss this summer

Are you worried about not being able to hear your family and friends during the holidays?

The holiday season is an exciting time, but for someone with hearing loss, it can be a stressful time. During the holidays, we are typically more social, attending community functions, family dinners, visiting the grandchildren, or even traveling to summer cabins on the mountains or by the sea.

It is important that we hearing everything well during these social situations so we can enjoy summer without feeling embarrassed or isolated from the conversation.

Hearing loss is often an age related problem however more and more young people are diagnosed with hearing loss very early in their life due to high exposure of sound through loud music. According to WHO Fact Sheet, there are more than 360 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss and 32 million of these are children.

Norway has its fare share of these statistics. Hørselshemmedes Landsforbund estimates that by 2020 there will be over 1 million people with hearing loss and every 1 in 6 person would be young. Read more about this issue in a VG article here.

Carrying hearing aids around on a holiday can be very inconvenient

Hearing aids can help but are not always convenient:

Most hearing aids are not water proof and one has to take them off before jumping in the swimming pool or shower. Dont even think about taking them for a swim in the ocean.

Extreme temperature changes are not healthy for hearing aids. This can cause condensation to form on the hearing aid. Condensation and moisture build-up can significantly affect the function of the aids. These extreme temperature changes are common around the holiday season.

One needs to carry extra supplies of batteries or pack charger for rechargeable hearing aids. Most of us already carry smartphones, cameras, laptops, and other devices which come with their own charges. You certainly dont want to carry extra kilos just full of chargers.

On long holidays, one also needs to carry cleaning tools, wax guards, extra tubing (if applicable to your hearing aid style), and a dehumidifier or drying kit to keep hearing aids clean and maintain them to function well throughout the holiday period.

All this can add extra stress on top of planning and packing for the actual holiday, especially if you don´t like wearing hearing aids in the first place.

Travel light and hear better simply through a smartphone app

Your smartphone is a must have accessory during the holiday. Not only it can keep you connected with the world but it also doubles up as camera, watch, alarm, GPS and now as your hearing assistant.

MobileEars is a convenient and free app-based hearing solution for millions of people worldwide with mild to moderate hearing loss. Simply plug-in your earphones and hear everything better around you.The app works great whether you are outdoor by the sea or hiking on a mountain. It works offline as well so you can use it during long flights while the phone is on Airplane Mode. Just download the app from Apple App Store and off you go!

MobileEars is a free and convenient alternative to hearing aids during holidays. Download and use the app from here and enjoy your summer holidays !